The Agony and the Ecstasy

Late last year, Toei Hero Net (they of the rare, pricey exclusives) announced they would be selling a 1/1 replica of Kamen Rider BLACK's Henshin Belt, for the cool price of... ¥69,300. Ouch.

Now here's the thing... as far as I can tell, it's not electronic; it's a replica prop and accurate to the original in virtually every way, but that's it. No lights or sounds. It comes with a... replica of BLACK's waist? I think, to display it on. But it's not like the Complete Selection line (which are sold on a much wider scale.) This isn't the first time Toei Hero Net's done this, although it's the first time I've been in the position to actually buy one. But of course, I'm iffy.

I like BLACK a heck of a lot, but that much for a belt which basically just sits there and looks cool... hmmm, dunno. And I'm usually not one of those people who complains about shelling out for stuff which, arguably, doesn't do much more than sit there and look cool. Were it an earlier Rider, I might be slightly more inclined; were it X-Rider or Skyrider, I'd probably jump on it instantly, cuz how often are you gonna see a full-size (or any size) belt for them? At least the original Typhoon's got a lot of nice representations, and I suspect some day we'll get a Complete Selection Double Typhoon, if there's the interest. But as for this, well, even I have my limits...

...of course, they still go pretty far, as the below item will prove:



Announced just a few days ago, this is pretty much my big purchase for 2009. I've got plenty of time to save up, since it comes out in June. But what is it?

It's Medicom's new Real Action Heroes RX Kamen Rider 1 (Old) ver. 3.5 & Cyclone. What a mouthful! Let's break it down.

I love the RAH figures, both the big guys and their smaller 220 counterparts. They're pricey, yes, but they're also more than worth it, in my opinion. I spent a good part of last year hunting down some of the ones I really wanted, usually at fairly good prices. I've gotten the mail-in exclusive system down pat, and am awaiting RAH Momotaros (okay, B!M Momo, same difference) and RAH Shadow Moon later this year. They're fun figures to mess around with, and they look great. And for me, that's all you really need sometimes.

In any case, Medicom has been on a "DX" binge the last few years, cycling out older figures (some of which now look positively archaic) and replacing them with much-improved upgrades. If you just concentrate on the Riders (who have been getting the bulk of the rehab) we're now expecting BLACK RX & Kuuga, the latter of which is actually all-new, only done before by subsidiary Time House. That's the big scale, and Stronger is next in the 220 size. Mail-ins have ranged from upgrades on past figures (Apollo Geist, Shadow Moon) to never-done-before(human forms for Amazon, Skyrider, etc.) I'm proud to say I've got 7 of the original 10 Riders in the DX big scale now; sadly, V3 & Riderman (the two I don't have, along with Stronger) tend to go for big bucks. Time to save...

Amidst all this, they keep going back to do the original "old" version of Rider 1. Why? Well, in addition to the fact that even the original DX Kamen Rider 1 (Old) figure is starting to date, apparently somebody wants there to be a figure of every possible variation on the original suit (and there are a lot, let me tell you.) Not that I'm complaining. So here we are, at version 3.5. I passed on 2.0 when he came out because 1) didn't have the cash at the time, and 2) the RAH220 DX one is based on him anyway. Then 3.0 came out last year, and being a big improvement over the original DX figure and 2.0, that was a definite-pick up.

Now we've got 3.5, an improvement on 3.0. By itself, I'd probably say "Looks cool, but I can pass. 3.0's still good" BUT, this one's got a secret weapon.

The Cyclone. This would be, as far as I know, the first official Medicom-produced Rider Machine yet. I know there have been "unlicensed" versions produced by third-party companies of varying degrees of legitimacy. Cyclone, New Cyclone, Hurricane, and I'm pretty sure Battle Hopper. But here we have a RAH-sized Cyclone coming from Medicom themselves. And it looks incredible. The figure's made especially to make riding poses easier, and will come with the necessary handle bar-gripping hands. And that's pretty rad.

So yeah. This will be my late birthday present to myself I think. They're already up for pre-order on Amazon, but some other online places (in Japan) are putting an incredible discount on this one (like over $100!) so I'll be shopping around a bit for options. But yes, this is a must-get item for me. Between this and the upcoming S.I.C. Rider 1/Cyclone based on THE FIRST, this looks to be a good year for Rider 1 fans... of which I am a BIG one.

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